Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 7, 1993 TAG: 9304070087
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOE EDWARDS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NASHVILLE, TENN. LENGTH: Medium
CORNY `HEE HAW' GETS THE LAST LAUGH
"Hee Haw," the cornball country humor show that showcased cornfields and an animated donkey, is going out of production after 25 years.The 60-minute program - country America's answer to "Laugh In," ranks alongside some of TV's most venerable shows in longevity.
"The Tonight Show" has been produced for 39 years, Walt Disney's weekly anthologies have been made for 35 years and "60 Minutes" has been aired for 25.
"Monday Night Football" has been on for 23 seasons while "Gunsmoke" and "Red Skelton" were each produced for 20.
"Hee Haw," currently seen in 140 markets, will remain in syndication with 600 shows in the vault to be rerun.
"I'm in mourning. I've lost an old friend," said George "Goober" Lindsey, who was on the show 22 years.
Program officials said last week that partial production, which has been done for the past year, will be eliminated entirely.
The format of the show remained the same for a quarter century: fetching Southern belles in skimpy outfits doing brief skits, and country music by top stars like Loretta Lynn and host Roy Clark.
Many of the skits were in a cornfield.
Until 1992, a superimposed cartoon donkey was flashed across the screen as the show's unofficial symbol.
That was the year the program underwent a sweeping overhaul to upgrade its hayseed image.
The show's cornfield was dropped, several unknown and younger performers were hired and older ones like Marianne Rogers and Misty Rowe were not brought back.
Performers quit wearing overalls and straw hats and replaced them with designer jeans and snappy Western clothing.
Longtime viewers objected, and for this year the show reverted to reruns although Clark and other performers did some commentary and introductory remarks. This year, the show's name was changed to "Hee Haw Silver" to reflect its 25th year.
"We decided not to go back and do production, partly because of the very good response to `Hee Haw's' silver season," said Tom Adkinson, spokesman for the company that syndicates the show.
"Hee Haw" first aired on CBS as a summer substitute for the "Smothers Brothers Variety Show" in 1968. CBS dropped the show in 1971 but it went into syndication without missing a season.
This past year, "Hee Haw" aired in approximately 85 percent of the TV households in the country, mostly during the early Saturday night time period. Current viewership was put at 3.5 million.
Down through the years, "Hee Haw" had non-country guest stars like Sammy Davis Jr., Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford.
Longtime cast members besides Clark were Grandpa Jones, Lulu Roman, Minnie Pearl and the late Roy Acuff. Buck Owens was co-host with Clark from the show's inception until leaving in 1986.
"Everyone who ever has been affiliated with `Hee Haw' has earned a place in television history," said Jane Grams, general manager of Gaylord Syndicom, the show's owner.